The liberal left
is shocked to discover that the Asian tsunami didn't wrest
sovereignty of Aceh from Indonesia and turn it over to the United
Nations, foreign aid workers, NGOs, and other self-appointed
do-gooders. Depending on what reports you read, the various aid
organizations have been "dismayed," "concerned," and "skeptical" of
a sovereign country with a democratically elected government
exerting its rights in a time of national emergency.
The tsunami
changed many things in Indonesia. Coastal cities and villages were
destroyed and whole islands were physically moved. And in a radical
shift, the Indonesian government permitted NGO workers and foreign
militaries access to parts of the country that had been previously
been closed to all foreign presence. But the tsunami didn't change
the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the Indonesian
government. Whatever outsiders think of Indonesia's response to the
tsunami, they should respect the country's sovereignty and not
presume to engage in long-term nation building when it is against
the government's wishes.
In Aceh, the
Indonesian government has two terrible responsibilities, one recent
and one long-standing. Most immediately, it must rescue the
province from the disaster wrought by the tsunami. Aceh was the
hardest hit, in terms of loss of life and destruction of property,
and without relief efforts there, many more may die. Preventing
this requires that Indonesia work with foreign NGOs and engage with
donor countries far more than it has in the past.
Thus the
international outcry this week when the county announced that it
would limit the access of aid workers to only two cities in the
region, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. Aid workers seeking to visit the
countryside will need government permission, which could be
difficult to come by.
The government's
second responsibility is the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the country. Aceh is home of the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, a
terrorist insurgency intent on independence for the province. In
recent years, GAM has become increasingly violent, targeting
civilians in its terrorist operations. According to a U.S. State
Department human rights report, GAM has carried out "grave abuses
including murder, kidnapping, and extortion." Since 2000, GAM has
been engaged in ethnic cleansing and in two years managed to force
50,000 civilians from their homes in Aceh. The group has trained
with Jemaah Islamiyah, an al Qaeda affiliate, and with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front, a separatist group in the
Philippines.
The Indonesian
government takes very seriously its responsibility to put down GAM,
and despite the tsunami, fighting has continued to rage. The
Tsunami drove GAM fighters from their mountain redoubts and to the
ravaged coastal areas where their supporters live, and several gun
battles have broken out in recent days.
Some NGOs claim
that the Indonesian military, known by its acronym TNI, wants to
keep aid workers out while it clamps down on GAM and its
supporters. But TNI does have legitimate safety concerns for people
working in GAM-controlled areas. First, GAM does kidnap people for
ransom and has kidnapped foreigners. For aid workers lucky enough
not to be kidnapped, extortion is still quite likely. Like any
insurgency, raising money is key, and collecting "taxes" from
foreigners traveling through GAM-controlled area is a favorite
tactic.
Second, open
fighting presents an obvious danger to aid workers. Even a small
number of casualties could jeopardize relief operations elsewhere
in the country, as well as foreign aid.
But that's not to
say that TNI's motives are wholly pure. Indonesia's military has a
long history of corruption. Despite reforms, it continues to engage
in illegal logging, poaching, drug smuggling, and protection
rackets. These off-budget activities make up about 70 percent of
TNI's income. Bribery is endemic, and thanks to the current crisis,
poorly paid soldiers are supplementing their incomes by selling
donated food supplies to the needy, according to several
reports.
In response, aid
organizations and some foreign governments are questioning the
TNI's motives in restricting access to parts of Aceh and setting a
3-month limit on foreign troops delivering aid. There is
"considerable skepticism" among relief groups, reports the New
York Times, that the restrictions are needed.
But all this
"concern" may be premature. Aside from petty theft, there has been
no evidence so far that the TNI has taken advantage of the
Tsunami's aftermath to rout GAM or withhold supplies from its
civilian supporters.
Still, some groups
like Human Rights Watch are already agitating for outside pressure
on Indonesia to bar TNI from relief distribution and allow
short-term aid to morph into long-term development.
But that's just
what GAM wants. The government's restrictions are "merely a move
aimed at scaring off international aid workers," GAM commander
Muzakkir Manaf said in a press statement. GAM's aim is to keep the
TNI at bay while it rebuilds its base of support and quietly
unravels the government's recent gains.
After decades of
authoritarian rule, Indonesia has only recently emerged as the
largest Muslim democracy and a key ally in the war on terror. Its
transformation into a fully modern democracy is by no means
complete, but the gains it has made in just a few short years are
staggering. And the country's success so far in coordinating
tsunami relief may mark a turning point in the reform of its
military and police forces.
As a democracy
fighting a militant insurgency while recovering from one of the
world's most destructive natural disasters, Indonesia faces tough
choices. Critics downplay Indonesia's progress and promise when
they disrespect its sovereignty. The most fruitful course for now
will be to accept the government's restrictions and get on with the
business of helping refugees, not nation building.
Dana R. Dillon is
Senior Policy Analyst in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage
Foundation.